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by Brendan Dunne
If your sneaker collection stretches far back enough, you know how much of a hassle it can be to preserve vintage footwear.
Nobody knows more about that than Ada Hopkins, the shoe conservator at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Hopkins, who has been with the museum for 27 years, works with everything from Chinese slippers to vintage Converse Weapons.
In an interview with Torontoist, she broke down the material construction on pair of the Lakers-colored Weapons. Hopkins approach is somewhat different than that of an average sneaker collector, as the pairs she works on likely won't be worn again. Hopkins makes cosmetic repairs and also deals with how to best preserve the shoes for posterity.
